The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1887-04-21
MISTAKES IN GARDENING.


Why the Majority of Western Farmers Fan
In Having Good Gardens.
The principal mistake that many
| Western farmers make is in regarding
. vegetable garden as a thing of very
small Importance. Some think that a
garden is not profitable because one
of its products are converted into
money, as are those of the field. They
may acknowledge that a variety of fine
vegetables adds to the pleasures of the
table, but they seem to think that an
abundance of vegetables does not
diminish the amount of bread, meat
and fish that the family consumes.
They regard the latter as constituting
true food and the former merely as
condiments or appetizers. The truth
is that a good vegetable garden and a
plantation of small fruit will supply a
family with more than half the food
necessary for its support. They will
afford a constant and agreeable change
from a diet of bread, salt meat, eggs
and potatoes. They will diminish not
only grocers' and butchers bills, but
those of doctors and druggists. They
WILL PAOu1OoC ACdIth anu hdppllCSo,
which are essential to doing the work
required on a farm. A supply of fine
vegetables requires but a very small
expenditure of money and only a small
amount of land. The management of
q vegetable garden calls for no costly
machine.
Farmers who do have a vegetable
garden, or who try to have one, often
make a very grave mistake in locating
it. They desire to have it near the
house, SO that it will be handy to do
work in and save steps for those who
wish to go to it to get vegetables. In
their desire to have the garden where
it will be handy they often locate it
where it will be partially shaded by the
farm buildings and the trees planted to
ornament the house lot, and where the
poultry will be constantly running to
it. To keep the fowls out a fence is
necessary, which is quite costly to
erect, while it will shade the
ground, that should receive the
full sunshine. The fence prevents
the free use of the pillow, harrow
and %cultivator, and makes it neces-
sary to perform almost all the work by
hand. It also encourages the growth
of grass and weeds, which serve to
form a safe retreat for vermin. BY
locating a garden several rods from the
house the expense of a fence. is saved,
the shade of trees and buildings is obvi-
ated the trouble caused by fowls is
avoided, and the use of implements
drawn by horses is rendered practicable.
The only offset to these advantages is
the trouble of walking to and from
the garden, the products of which are
as safe as they would be if they were
neal the house.
Farmers generally make another
mistake in Understanding the amount
of manure required bya vegetable gar
den. They think that if land is made
rich enough to raise corn, potatoes and
small grains it will produce fine roots
and vegetables suitable for the table.
Market-gardeners, however. have as
certained that very high manuring is
essential to success in their business.
They find that excellence in vegetables
is largely the result of rapid growth,
and that this is secured by the liberal
use of fertilizers. Many market-gar-
deners in the vicinity of Jul large cit
les annually apply stable n to
their land at the rate of seventy-five
cords per acre. If the land is very
sandy, as it is where vegetables are
raised for the New York market, it is
not an unusual thing to apply one
hundred cords of t o an acre of
land. In addition to ~well-rotted stable
manure, gardeners use ashes, ground
bone and various commercial fertilizers.
This liberal application of manure re-
suits not only in the production of very
large crops, but in producing veg
etables of very superior quality. Being
in all respects superior to those raised
on poor soil or brought from a distance
they bring good prices.
Another very common mistake OF
farmers in the management of gardens
is planting the seeds of all kinds OF
vegetables at nearly the same time.
They know that wheat and oats should
be sown very early in the spring, and
that the planting of corn, beans and
pumpkins should be delayed until the
air and soil are warm, and if they con.
sidered the matter they would see the
necessity of making a similar difference
in the time of planting their garden
seeds. But they are less interested in
garden than field crops, and do not OBJ.
serve their habits SO closely. AS this
is the case they are likely to plant bush
beans, squashes and melons at the
same time they do the seeds of onions
and vegetables raised for their roots
Ordinarily the former are planted toe
early, while the latter are planted quite
too late to secure the best results
Onions, like wheat and most Other
small grains, must be matured in tho
early part of the season, while mos
roots require many months in which tt
grow. The seeds. of plants that origi
mated in tropical countries, like bean.
and melons, should not be placed in thu
ground till it is quite warm.
The most general and the most fire
quer.t mistake of farmers in the man
agement of gardens is shown in neg
5 Letting them at the times when the,
require close attention and care
t Work in the garden is often suspended
: for weeks, during which period weed
, and grass get the start of the vegeta
: bles that were planted and keep it til
the close of the growing season. Tn
garden is generally neglected to sucl
: an extent that it presents an insight,
appearance during the season of cult
f waiting corn, cutting grass for hay ant
t harvesting grain. If any work is don,
. in the garden at these periods it l
when the soil in the fields is too dry t.
work with the cultivator OF the weathe
r is unfavorable for harvesting. Gardel
crops are more likely to suffer from
: neglect than field crops. Most gardel